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Effiong, an activist and lawyer, is serving a one-month prison sentence for alleged contempt of court after asking the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom, Ekaette Obot, to recuse herself from a case he is handling.
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Agroup, Lawyers Arise For Justice, has asked the Nigerian Bar Association to take a more
resolute stand as a matter of urgency on the illegal incarceration of a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong.
Effiong, an activist and lawyer, is serving a one-month prison sentence for alleged contempt of court after asking the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom, Ekaette Obot, to recuse herself from a case he is handling.
The human rights lawyer, who is also the National Legal Adviser of the African Action Congress (AAC), was in court to defend Leo
Ekpenyong, a lawyer, in a libel suit filed by Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom.
Meanwhile, the illegal imprisonment has attracted condemnation from civil society organisations and many Nigerians.
On August 3, the NBA said Effiong was not given fair hearing before he was sent to prison by Obot, and the organisation threatened to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Lawyers Arise For Justice in a letter to the NBA President, Olumide Apata, which was signed by its convener,
Tope Temokun condemned the reported torture of the lawyer by prison officials.
Other lawyers who signed the statement are Samuel Ihensekhien Junior, Marshal Abubakar, Pelumi
Olajengbesi, Festus Ogun, Rasheedat Akinrinde, E.D Akpala, B.C. Obilor, B.O Williams and Kariakitei Kokowei.
They called for a review of the judgment of the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom on Effiong for the purpose of releasing him from prison.
It read, “Yesterday the 11th of August 2022, Inibehe Effiong was moved, handcuffed, from Ikot Ekpene
correctional centre, Akwa Ibom, where he was held, to Uyo Correctional Centre, where he was
forced to sit on the bare floor and have his head and beard shaved, among other degradations visited on him.
NBA took a swift step to the applause of all when this matter happened and it is worthy of note that the NBA was courageous enough to say it, that the
Chief Judge did not follow due process in sending Inibehe Effiong to prison as he was neither docked nor
given the opportunity of being heard in violation of Inibehe’s constitutional right to fair hearing.
“This is a clear case of when the court would have the powers to review its order on the ground of a
fundamental defect in the proceedings and a breach of the Inibehe’s right to fair hearing.
“In a plethora of cases too numerous to cite, the supreme court has dispassionately confirmed the position of the law on this, that a
court would set aside its own order given in any proceeding in which there is some fundamental defect.
While the person affected by the order is entitled to have it set aside, by an application brought before the
same court, not necessarily by way of appeal, the court on its own can suo
motu set it aside. This is the only path of honour the Chief Judge could take to redeem the bar and the bench and
our justice system of the backlashes that may follow this path of perdition if allowed to complete its cycle.
“The NBA had taken the first step wisely to have sought the audience of the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom, Justice Ekaette Obot, on why the order
should be reviewed. But having closed all doors of further audience on the matter, we are of the view that
the NBA is a pressure group and the best time to invoke that pressure to save the integrity of the association is
now, as we entertain a reasonable apprehension that if the NBA neglects to take this path of redemption, it
may be the end of this association as a voice and force in the protection of rule of law in the country.
“We write to call on the NBA to take aore resolute stand as a matter of urgency on this impunity going on. We call on the NBA to take a stand on
the brutal torture meted out to Effiong by the prison officials in Akwa Ibom State in violation of his
fundamental right to dignity of human person and to protest the refusal of the Court to make available
the certified true copy of the judgment and the record of proceedings of the court, for Inibehe
to be able to exercise his constitutional right of applying for a review of the order, even if it is through an appeal.
“At a time like this in our history when everything good seems to be falling into a split, the minimum lawyers engaging in courageous
advocacy expect from the NBA in the course of speaking truth to powers is support and protection if and when the need arises. We,
therefore, call on the Nigerian Bar Association to explore the pressure group option and to declare a nationwide action on the following grounds:
“To protest the brutal treatment and unconstitutional humiliation meted out to Inibehe Effiong in Uyo correctional centre by
calling for the investigation of this report for the purpose of bringing the officers involved to book; and
“To call for a review of the judgment of the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom, Justice Ekaette Obot, on Inibehe Effiong, for the purpose of releasing Inibehe from prison.
“We of LAWYERS ARISE FOR JUSTICE demand for the review of the order of court sending Inibehe Effiong to prison and this demand is
based on sound principle of law that every court has the inherent powers to, whether based on application made or suo motu, review
its orders and judgments if there is any defect that robs the judgment the elementary character of legitimate adjudication, as it is in this case.
“We demand an end to other forms of intimidation and harassment of lawyers by those in authorities, be it the police or other law
enforcement agents in the country or the courts, in the course of carrying out their duties in this country.
“If the NBA neglects to toe this path within the shortest time available, then a dangerous precedent for the courageous practice of law in
Nigeria, that would hunt the law profession for generations to come, would have been firmly established and!”
